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When it’s summer in Indianapolis, we’ve grown to expect a few things: humidity, excitement about the race and of course, construction. As traffic begins to divert from main thoroughfares into our neighborhood, MKNA and the City of Indianapolis want to keep pedestrians, cyclists and motorist as safe as possible. That being the case, the Department of Public Works has committed to the following traffic calming measures in the coming months:

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8 thoughts on “Traffic Calming Measures On The Way”

The stop at 56th and Central should absolutely remain a 4 way stop. That is a major walk/bike crossing, especially for children headed to school or to 56xIll and Rivi. Before traffic on Central had to stop there, it was extremely difficult to cross safely. Cars traveling south crest the hill moving fast, and a pedestrian can easily begin to cross and be surprised be an approaching car. Drivers do not tend to stop or slow just because there are people in the road.

It would also be an easy place to get t-boned when driving, especially when roads are slippery and the “takeoff” up the hill from being stopped on 56th is insufficient to race across Central in time to avoid cars appearing over the blind hill. We need to keep that a stop sign for Central as well as 56th.

This plan is being sold as traffic taming, but it’s actually an effort to accommodate College-level traffic on Central. That amount of traffic is an inherently poor fit amongst our schools, but a good plan will at least help reduce some of the harm. We need to be very careful though, that this plan is actually going to tame traffic and isn’t just additional problems being sold as a solution. If the city actually installs them, traffic tables are a good way to tame traffic. But, replacing stop signs with stop lights will tend to make traffic move MORE quickly and be MORE dangerous. Turning 4 way stops into 2 way stops is obviously not traffic taming either. Seems like this potential mess and the supposed solutions need some serious neighborhood scrutiny.

Thank you, Anna! A stoplight invites cars to speed up to “make” the light. I think the stop light at 54th and Central (closest to my home) is a bad deal for the neighborhood. When a driver rushing to get through the light collides with another vehicle in the intersection cyclists on the roadway and pedestrians on the sidewalk are at risk of getting caught up in the melee, too. The 4-way stops keep the neighborhood much safer.

This traffic shift into the neighborhood is the first of many public safety problems that are likely during construction and operation of the proposed Red Line Bus Rapid Transit. The middle-of-the-road boarding station and dedicated bus lane roadway design is not what I voted for in the referendum. Other than the problematic design, I support a better public transportation system. One might wonder why it takes expensive mega-buses powered by lithium batteries to have a better public transit system.

I invite MK residents to survey the intersections of 54th and College. Imagine a center-of-the-road boarding platform, with two dedicated bus lanes either side. Ask yourself how, at peak traffic times, autos traveling in the north and south bound single, curbside lane, are going to safely “interact” with police, fire, and EMT vehicles when they are in a hurry to help your neighbor. I see degraded response times for police, fire, and emergency medical vehicles, and maybe worse.

Here’s part of an e-mail I received on March 21, 2018 from Mr. Jay Ciavarella, Director, Office of Planning and Program Development, USDOT- FTA Region V: “The FTA, through its Project Management Oversight Contractor (PMOC), reviewed the Red Line plans and found no safety concerns of note. Specific procedures for how to interact with emergency vehicles would be outlined in IndyGo’s operating plan, which they are currently developing in coordination with Indianapolis public safety officials.”

The FTA didn’t care enough to see the operating plan before declaring “no safety concerns”. I have yet to see the operating plan referred to in Mr. Ciavarella’s last sentence.

The four way stop at 40th and central should remain a four way stop. I have tons of data in lots of pictures of accidents at this intersection when it was a two way stop, including cars in peoples yards as a result of the high-speed‘s they travel southbound on Central.

I couldn’t agree more. I live at 56th and Central, and this stop is one block from two schools. There used to be crashes and near misses there at least twice/week. Since the conversion to a four way stop, they have decreased considerably. This is a very unsafe decision given the amount of school foot/bike traffic and the crest of the hill. What is it going to take, a child being struck?

As more and more cars use Forest Hills to avoid the Kessler and College intersection as well as College in general, we continue to see cars blow through stop signs and speed down the street to make the next stoplight. As a long time resident (34 years) the sheer number of cars cutting through FH is alarming. Reading that temporary speed tables are to be installed on Central brings up the question of using them to calm the traffic in neighborhoods used as cut throughs. Many neighbors in FH as well as other neighhoods are extremely concerned about effects and lack of safety the increased traffic poses. With all the construction that is expected, the neighbors deserve a frank conversation about what changes can be made to keep the neighborhood a safe place to live.

I agree with all that was said above, specifically as it applies to 40th and Central. How on earth does removing a four-way stop calm traffic? Quite the contrary – it allows cars to speed for longer stretches of road and leaves pedestrians and bicycles at their mercy. We will fight this conversion!

I agree with what Anna said 100%. Big mistake making Central and 56th a 2-way stop. Traveling east on 56th, there is not a sufficient line of sight to determine whether a car is coming south on Central. It’s already dangerous as south- and east-bound drivers can’t see if a car is already there until right at the intersection. Much worse if south-bound drivers don’t need to stop.

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